WCMM And Amano

Hi there,
We did look at the Odessa Barbs this morning and they were beautiful but they were HUGE in comparison to the WCMM.
We've decided we'll go with the WCMM and some glowlight Danios. Thanks all for your help.
Maybe get the Odessas when I get yet another tank hehe. !!

(The other half is saying - don't even think about it- BUT he said that about the one we picked up yesterday)

I spent this afternoon cleaning the "new" tank.  I filled it to the brim with rainwater to make sure it doesn't leak and it seems stout enough and I added baby  sterilising tablets.  It was then very thoroughly rinsed using the fresh water hose
There are a few scratches on it but once it has water and plants  in it I'm sure it won't notice.

It came with a Fluvel 4 Plus (old style) filter.
There were two sponge filters in it.  They are stained but not breaking up or anything and look like they have some life left in them. It filters over 1000 litres an hour but is adjustable

There was also a 200 watt heater which shook the other half (our current one is 25 w) but then he realised that it's a bigger tank and the heater's thermostat should keep the temp steady at around 22c so he calmed down.

We are a bit puzzled by the light though.  It is in the hood and is 15w but says on it "for reptile use only"

I assume this means that the spectrum is incorrect for plants?

Should I get a condensation tray to stop moisture from reaching the light.

All help gratefully received. Thank you

I think glowlights are a great choice. Very active fish and have lovely colouration.

The light situation is a bit odd. Have you thought of replacing it? I really like my Arcadia Classica LED stretch. It sits on top of your tank and can stretch to fit varying tank sizes. It has both moon lighting and standard. LEDs have very low power consumption and last a lot longer than tubes. The Arcadia is not the brightest lamp on the market but will provide ample light for most plants.

Just a thought as the tank was second hand 

Ha ha! I'm far too trusting when I buy things secondhand. I picked up 10 cherry shrimp on Sunday. Gave the woman a tenner for a brown bag with what felt like water in it and only checked there were shrimp in there when I got in the car! There was fortunately!

The Arcadia lights are great value in my opinion and I think Swell do the best deals on them.

Fishkeeping is a bit of an addiction. I'm just glad my better half isn't really into it. There's be thanks everywhere if she was!

Other than anacharis, the other plant I've had huge success with is Hygrophila Polysperma. It seems almost indestructible! Java moss is pretty resilient too.

I can't recommend a good pump sorry, I don't bother with air bubbles in the tank. The higher CO2 levels are supposed to be better for the plants!

I get so confused by the different advice on sites like Serious Fish.
I always get the impression that they are for the real "officianados" (is that a proper word?)

I read something and think OH good I can have those then SF tells me I can't but I know other people have got them. SF nearly always seems to contradict what this site says so I chicken out and go with TF, but then that's probably because I'm reading hat I ant to see"

I shouldn't be so trusting but as a complete beginner you have to rely on "experts" or kind folk on here who share their fishy experiences.

Cherry Barbs and Odessas it is then for the next upgrade haha.

Mine are kept at about 20^o.
I find the best information about individual species is often in older books (I have a large collection), which were written by professional fishkeepers, while most Internet sites seem to just copy information from each other. The usual opinion in these books is that 18 - 23 is the optimum temperatures for the Peppered cory, not below 18  and never as high as the 26 which many people seem to think is "normal" for tropical tanks.

There's an article here :
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=5351
on setting up a temperate tank set to 18^o including Peppered cories.